I would think that most of us have a few favorite picture books, the ones we grew up with. I certainly do. With some, I can still hear my grandmother's voice and her quiet inflections as she read the stories to me. One such is the Five Chinese Brothers, by Claire Hutchet Bishop. I was excited to find this book still in print a couple of years ago. The story is about 5 Chinese brothers who look exactly alike. Each of them has a special power or talent. One can "swallow the sea" while the other "could not be burned."
The illustrations are very simple. The illustrator is Kurt Wiese who uses black line and one or two colors very effectively.
Another classic, for me, is Little Sambo (first called Little Black Sambo). This book has since been redone a number of times to correct its racial overtones. But I thoroughly enjoyed the book as a child. Little Sambo escapes being eaten by 3 ferocious (yet prideful) tigers who take his new clothes and then fight over who is the best looking tiger in the jungle.
Magic occurs when the tigers run around a tree so fast that they turn into butter. That night, Little Sambo and his family feast on pancakes made from the tiger butter. What a fantastic ending!
